CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Position Boosted by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455,560 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of CRH worth $42,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRH during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of CRH by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRH. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.64.

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CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.34. 15,666,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,058,262. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The firm has a market cap of $66.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.53.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CRH's payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.